IceHogs News

Week 23 Recap
The IceHogs finished off a season-long seven-game road trip in Week 23, finishing with a record of 4-1-1-1. The Hogs dropped a 3-2 shootout contest in Toronto on Tuesday but came back the next night and took a 2-1 win in Hamilton in shootout fashion. The IceHogs concluded the road trip on Friday by blanking the Milwaukee Admirals 2-0 at the Bradley Center. Overall, the Hogs picked up five of eight points in Week 23. Rockford has three-games on the slate for Week 24.

Bacon Bits:
-Rockford completed a season-long seven-game road trip on Friday with a 4-1-1-1 record

-Puckstopper Hannu Toivonen picked up his 20th career professional shutout, stopping all 28 shots faced on Friday in Milwaukee

-Toivonen appeared in all seven of Rockford’s games during their recent road swing and went 4-0-1-1 with a 1.69 goals against average and a .954 save percentage

-Toivonen has appeared in a season-high eight-straight games

-Ben Smith tallied goals in four straight games for the IceHogs from 3/4/11 to 3/9/11, tying Peter LeBlanc’s season-high mark

-Smith also scored on Sunday and now leads all Rockford rookies with 15 goals on the campaign, including five in his last five games

-Rockford found themselves in back-to-back shootouts on Tuesday and Wednesday for the first extra, extra hockey session in nearly three months

-The IceHogs last finished a game in a shootout on Dec. 10, 2010 in which they dropped the contest 4-3 to Milwaukee

-The IceHogs held their 12th Annual Jersey Auction on Sunday and raised $34,156 for the IceHogs Charitable Foundation

-In 12 auctions, the IceHogs, along with their generous fans, have helped raise $613,759

-Defenseman Brian Connelly set a new IceHogs single-season AHL record with 41 points on the season, breaking Danny Groulx’s mark of 40 points by a defenseman set in 2008-09

-Connelly now has 6g-36a-42 through 66 games this season

Hot Hog: Week 23Hannu Toivonen Goaltender

Goaltender Hannu Toivonen was very strong as the IceHogs finished off their season-long seven-game road trip in Week 23. Overall in Week 23, Toivonen had a record of 2-1-0-1 with a .945 save percentage and a 1.92 goals against average. The Hattula, Finland native faced a season-high 43 shots on goal and made 41 saves in a shootout loss on Tuesday in Toronto. Toivonen came right back the following night in Hamilton and stopped 44 pucks to earn a 2-1 shootout win. Then, the 26-year-old capped off the road trip by shutting out the Milwaukee Admirals at the Bradley Center on Friday to pick up his 14th win of the season, stopping all 28 shots faced.

Upcoming Games:
Friday, March 18 vs. Oklahoma City: The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. The IceHogs welcome the Oklahoma City Barons to the MetroCentre for the last time in 2010-11. The first 1,000 fans into the building will pickup an IceHogs poster courtesy of Comcast and Medicine Man.

Saturday, March 19 vs. Peoria: Game starts at 7:05 p.m. The IceHogs take on the Peoria Rivermen for the tenth and final time on the campaign. The Hogs are 3-5-0-1 against the Rivermen on the season, including 2-2-0-0 at home. The first 2,500 fans through the gates will get a Niklas Hjalmarsson Bobblehead compliments of U.S. Cellular, WIFR and 97-ZOK.

Sunday, March 20 at Grand Rapids: The puck gets on the ice at 3 p.m. Rockford travles to Grand Rapids for a Sunday afternoon affair with the Griffins. The game is the fifth of six meetings between the two clubs on the season. The Hogs close out the season series with the Griffins on April 9 at the MetroCentre.